Desperate Measure
by AnnF
Summary: A week after Voldemort was vanquished Death Eaters destroyed Hogwarts. As Harry and Hermione struggle to rebuild, Harry contemplates the meaning of magic. My contribution to the timetravel genre. HP era. AU after OOTP.
1. Chapter 1

_One of the genres I really enjoy in HP fanfic, at least when done well, is Harry restarting from the beginning. I should be writing the next section on Grief, but the bookshelves are still defying description, so instead..._

**Desperate Measure**

"You can't!"

The wind howled through the shattered remains of Hogwarts. The shell of the library was the section Hermione had deemed of most value to the survivors. The library was the only section that still had portions of outer walls standing, though the floors above had caved down filling the center higher than the walls of the first floor had been. Despite counter claims by Poppy, that the dungeons should be excavated first for the healing potions and supplies that might remain in the warded cabinets, Harry had easily gotten the remainder of the Order to agree with Hermione.

The last walls of Hogwarts above ground were a powerful symbol, and the chance to fix something was the only thing holding far too many of the survivors together. Despite numerous attempts from numerous people to convince them to leave for other 'greater' tasks, Harry and Hermione camped onsite near where Hagrid's cottage had been. They occasionally deigned to answer questions, while working or eating, but refused to leave the site of the final Death Eater suicide attack. Voldemort was defeated a week before what the world hoped were the last of his followers brought down the school that had been haven to the innocent.

It was the only time the Ministry's interference had helped Harry. They wouldn't let the Hero leave St. Mungo's while injured, their only concession, to bring Madam Pomfrey to him. Thus Harry, Poppy, and Hermione were spared from the attack, by virtue of being in the hospital. Harry was far too jaded by the Ministry's actions to believe he would have been allowed to leave the hospital if Hogwarts hadn't been destroyed, so his thankfulness was quite muted. 

Politicians still swarmed him at times trying to urge him to speak to the _people_ (of course with the Minister at his side), to endorse the building of a temporary school, to endorse the lists of death eaters, to do a million little things that would be good for their public image but nothing real. Instead Harry was among a large number of volunteers who removed the rubble, braced the walls, and began to rebuild Hogwarts from the library up.

"You can't do this, Harry!"

Harry thought the missing glass in the windows was what made the higher moans of the wind, the ones that reminded him of his mother's cries. He wondered if he transfigured glass for the empty panes would it be enough to distract Hermione from his choice of reading material.

"Time travel is forbidden for a reason. Saving any of them could destroy the universe..."

Harry tuned out Hermione, instead seeing if he still had enough magic today to wandlessly transfigure. Harry slowly filled the windows with glass, then as Hermione continued to lecture, began to change their colors then began adding patterns. As Harry finished a window with the image of what only a seasoned kindergarten teacher might be able to guess was Dumbledore, Hermione finally realized that Harry wasn't listening even to her lecturing about tuning her out.

She turned and saw the glass, and knew her problems were only beginning. For the one thing Harry had dictated, was that they couldn't transfigure or conjure even temporary materials. For the braces and temporary ceiling, Harry had insisted that they fell trees in the Forbidden Forest, until building materials could be brought. Perhaps it was instinct, but the accidents caused by conjured and transfigured ladders and scaffolds quickly but randomly reverting proved Harry right once again, though he was kind enough not to say I told you so. A thousand years of magic, wretched from its stones, reacted wildly at times, at least for everyone except Harry.

Most volunteers, that Hermione found herself organizing, stayed no closer than Hogsmede, finding that staying too near the remains of the castle for too long caused havoc with their magic, especially overnight.

When Hermione turned to face Harry again, Harry spoke, "I took Divination and Care, Hermione. I can't even read the basic runes this talks about."

Hermione nodded, but her expression didn't ease.

"I can't look at another building or cleaning book," he shook his head. "I'm not beating myself up, but it's not like there ever was much fiction to read here."

Hermione sighed. "Just so you remember, Harry. The world is saved for now. Trying to change it, would kill more than Voldemort ever could." Seeing Harry nod, Hermione doused most of the torches lighting the library, and headed to their tent. Knowing that asking Harry to go to sleep would be fruitless, she thought of how she'd alter tomorrow's work plans.

The sounds of morning at Hogwarts sounded more like London, than ever before. And with war-trained senses, Harry didn't sleep in anymore. An hour after dawn, the train would arrive with more supplies and day-trippers who would come to gawk, to mourn, and/or to help. Gawkers usually were good for an hour or two of work, and a few galleons thrown into the donation pot. Hermione was considering offering t-shirts for them, to raise funds as well as help identify them easily, as many of them tried to leave with 'souvenirs' as it was. Gringotts hadn't charged for the wards at the gate that returned appropriated items, probably because they were making plenty off the transfer fees to muggle funds.

Harry briefly contemplated staying in bed for a bit this morning to read in peace. But a change in his pattern would doubtlessly lead to more lectures, so got ready for another day.

Hermione was already eating breakfast when Harry got into the kitchen. The scowl on her face as she contemplated today's master schedule, didn't ease with his greeting.

"There should be a good-sized load of lead this morning," Harry offered.

"I saw that. I nearly called to cancel it until I saw your initials on the chart, as well as the order."

Harry served himself a cup of tea. "That's why the tent works."

"What?"

"I'm sorry I didn't say before, but I didn't realize that you didn't know why this tent doesn't lose its charms, until the just the other day."

Hermione closed her planner. "You thought I let 3 tents get ruined for..."

"A political statement," Harry interrupted. "You'd been telling me at night about the media and garnering public support, and I thought since they were from the Ministry, and the oldest ones they had..." Harry shrugged, "I thought that's why you didn't say anything to them."

Hermione shook her head. "No, Harry, I knew this tent was a bit different, but I thought that was because it was from your vault. So we have radiation shielding? How did you discover this?"

"Completely by accident, of course." Harry smiled, but failed to get a response from Hermione. "Dudley went on a class trip to one of the nuclear power plants, don't remember which one. He came home wearing a radiation detection button. A week after I got back, it was reading toxic levels."

"Without you doing a single spell?"

Harry shook his head, "I don't know if it was the wards there, or just me - which is something we should explore when we have time. But things got a bit tense there, especially when Dudley produced a second badge from his room that was in a baggie with a lead plate he'd swiped. Petunia wrote Dumbledore, demanded my removal as I was clearly endangering their health. He asked her if she wished to remain safe from wizards, as soon as she started to nod, he stunned and obliviated them."

"When was this?"

Harry frowned, and sat quietly for a bit, "I don't remember."

Hermione waited.

"I can't picture Dudley then. Petunia and Vernon didn't change so much. But it does add in more factors to look into later."

Hermione's face was a storm cloud, "You've been obliviated."

Harry shrugged. "Probably. Or it could have been a wild dream. The people most likely to have done it or to have been told about it are beyond answering questions."

"Are there more memories like that?"

Harry sighed, "It doesn't matter. He's dead; they're dead."

"Harry," Hermione said softly, "I know he was far less than a saint."

Harry shrugged, "It's done, and we've a mess to clean up. Were you able to get a hold of the American architects you were going on about last week?"

Hermione held Harry's gaze for a minute then with a nod gave in to his change of topic.

C 3

It was past two in the afternoon, and Harry had yet to get his hands dirty. Though he still felt ready to take a shower, after dealing with bureaucrats all day. Paper pushers and politicians kept trying to swaddle him with procedures and processes. Only Hermione's insistence that Harry try to play nice, kept him from expelling the lot of them from the grounds and paying to rebuild Hogwarts completely free from their interference.

After all, enough of the founders' families had left him as their heir – not to mention the reparations owed to him by the House of Gaunt - that Harry could claim the largest stake among all the descendents of the Founders. An argument that couldn't really stand up in court, at least not simply, but would be praised in the Daily Wizard, even if he had to write it himself, not that Luna would let him. Since Luna began her own paper, she would send him an advance copy for him to edit, with everything he would have written if she hadn't _seen_ him writing it. Harry sometimes wished Dumbledore's portrait had been recovered, to ask why of the few rules of the school Dumbledore had actually followed, why requiring Luna to take an inhibitor potion to reduce her abilities to see the future had been one of them.

Hermione and her team of 'experts', that really seemed too awed of someone half their age to be healthy, had declared that the wild magic would be too active today to work until 4. Apparently the full moon occurring during the day would make the whole area extra energized. So Harry went through the accumulated mail from the last few days. Hedwig hooted from her perch, as Harry began the series of spells to sort the mail, test for spells and hexes, and mute and transcribe howlers. Hedwig only was allowed to bring mail to Hermione now, and it was clear the owl knew when Harry was only making work for her. Somehow it had been made clear to Harry that the only reason Harry was getting away with it was that Hedwig was humoring him.

Harry recorded in his logbook the hexed mail's supposed sender and spell signature by hand; then used the copy spell to record the contents. Unfortunately they hadn't yet found a way do all 3 in one; the only one Hermione had found only recorded the stated sender and the contents. Most people who sent nasty hexes didn't leave a name, or left someone else's (Harry got a lot of hexes from the dead), and wards could only rebound with a magical signature anyway. So Harry just did his best to avoid reading the contents of the letters, not wanting to spoil the rest of his day. The log was charmed to beep if a specific or immediate time was mentioned.

After logging in all the hexed letters, Harry gave into temptation and grabbed the big boxes from Salem Book Company. With a final spell to check for any noxious substances, Harry tore into the first box, and slipping his hands under the ads and invoice, pulled out the books. American Wizards, it seemed, had far more instructional home repair manuals and great 'career re-education' manuals for adult independent study.

At three that afternoon, Harry ventured out of the tent, holding in front of him a door sized lattice weave of thin lead wires that despite being reinforced by a framework of aluminum pipes, was slumping a bit under its own weight. He had no idea how much if any it would ward off the spurts of wild magic that had been so bright the hour before that bursts of light had shone through the seams of the tent, like lightning. The rubber intertube that Harry had slit to use as a covering for the center handle bar provided little comfort to his hands, with the death grip he had to keep, to hold the shield up. It was like walking into a near gale force wind, with an umbrella in front of him. Despite the lattice structure, wild magic didn't pass the lead, verifying Harry's theory.

Harry slowly moved backwards, and went back into the tent. Marveling that the tent showed none of the pressure the shield seemed to. Setting the shield against the post he'd created for it earlier Harry quickly did a series of tests with his wand. The aluminum frame – all behind the lead showed no significant temperature change. The lead however was a bit warmer but barely a degree. Now it was time for his next experiment.

Given the strength of the disturbance today, Harry set aside the idea of using the copper wire he had acquired, instead using copper tubing he constructed a series of 3 concentric circles, connected to the lead shield with rubber clamps, and each circle with a thick rope of insulated copper connected to the bottom. The wires trailed off about 20 feet, connecting to a copper stake. Layering asbestos lined mitts over his dragonhide gloves Harry went once more into the breach.

Harry stepped out, expecting to have to force his way forward, and nearly toppled over as the force was greatly decreased. The wires became stiff, digging into the ground, solid until the point that they passed the lead shield. Harry crept forward, wanting to halve the distance between their tent and the ruins. As soon as he had reached the granite holder he'd placed days ago, Harry reached with his wandless magic to plant the stake at a 45 degree angle from the plane of the shield.

With the shield on it holder, Harry finally could enjoy the light show of the magic pulsing from the ruins, swirling into the copper rings, and down into the soil. Harry sprinted back to the tent, as he saw the wild magic starting to spill into the void left by the shield. Knowing that the force of the wild magics crashing together in the void might be enough to destroy the tent, Harry forced his magic into his legs to increase his speed, while thanking fate for his laziness. As soon as Harry got in the tent, he grabbed a handful of lead pipes, and went back out, spiking the lead pipes in the ground in wide arc centered on the shield, and the flap of the tent. His hair began rising on the back of his neck, as he levitated the full load out of the tent by focusing on the pallet it was on. Grabbing another handful he stuck them in between those he'd already placed. Then conjured ropes to strap the rest to the pallet, and ran inside.

Hermione wasn't going to be impressed. Especially if that copper melted.

--


	2. Waking Up

**_This story I also am posting to ficwad, where the chapters are hideously shorter, and a few more typos linger. _  
**

* * *

**Desperate Measure**

* * *

C 2 (Here)

Not knowing what would happen in the next hour meant Harry couldn't succumb to exhaustion. Instead, he gave his robes a good scourgify, removed his gloves, washed his hands, and downed a couple potions. He wandered the tent, checking that there were no loose papers about, and all the valuables were in the safe boxes, before going back to the workroom and working to create another frame for a shield, this time making it a semicircle, and curving in the top and the bottom out a bit.

For practical purposes, the individual shield had already been proven to be too small with a magical discharge sources as large as Hogwarts, but would be very useful for experiments and if the other shield failed completely. A tidal wave of magical force would be a tricky thing to live through. Either Hermione hadn't padded the timing of the effects like she usually did, or it was far more powerful today. With Harry's luck, both were probably true.

The theory wasn't bad, the scale was. Harry just hoped that Hermione would stop yelling enough for him to say it. Unable to think of anything else that might protect the tent if the shield failed, Harry grabbed a book and studied more.

--

Harry awoke on the couch, finding his shoes and glasses removed, and the Chudley Cannons orange throw had been laid over him. All in all rather anti-climatic. He didn't bother with a tempus, as after a good nap it was always hard to believe the day and time, in his experience. Instead he decided to take a shower.

--

In Harry's opinion, silence was the best gift magic had. At Privet Drive, the sounds of the shower, and the water in the pipes were traitorous. Not only would the sound of water have his aunt or uncle screaming if he showered beyond the arbitrary length they thought was proper that day; it would send Dudley to the laundry with a basket of whites. Sometimes Harry thought not having to pick up Dudley's grungies was worth the shock of cold, especially after Dudley got the internet in his room.

Though magic also afforded water at the same temp, no matter how long it ran, or if someone else used water – so perhaps that bit of silence wasn't as precious to wizarding children – he'd never thought to ask Ron. That thought stopped him up, as it always did, and Harry went to his personal safe box and added the question to his Ron Book. He'd never tell Hermione what it was, and knew he'd never admit to what he called it out loud. All the questions on wizards, and Quidditch, and the unfathomable went into his Ron Book. It was the only form of 'therapy' safe for him, and that was only after a hundred spells and still leaving out the majority of how he'd like to write. The Ron Book was only for questions that Ron would have answered at the pub, if he'd survived to go to one.

Harry canceled the silencing charms on his room, aiming for the doorway back into the main of the tent. His room was on the front right side of the tent, as he'd been practically unaffected by the currents of the rubble, not that it came up, as it was the blue room, meant for male children of a camping family. Hermione was in the pink girl's room, as they had turned the adult suite into a planning room. Its ability to lock off from the rest of the tent and separate entrance meant they could restrict visitors to it, and not have to suffer strangers traipsing through their home – not that Ministry flunkies didn't try to anyway. Coming back in after the inevitable distraction, to find a would be intruder with their hands painted red and hair standing on end, was better than Molly's treacle.

Complete silence at Hogwarts, then and now, was only possible by magic. The sound of the breeze, the sound of life in the Forest – those only went missing with a silencing spell. The Tower had sometimes hummed a bit in strong winds, as its windows though warded, were battered by mother nature. It had been a bit of a joke in later years, that the only way to tell someone was up to something behind his curtains would be silence. In retrospect, Harry thought, his nightmares and visions had probably saved him from a lot of ribbing when he'd finally had to ward his bed to keep from waking his dorm mates.

The way his mind was rambling, he knew he hadn't slept long.

And sure enough, when he went back into the kitchen Hermione was there. As soon as he was through the door, the look she shot him, had him straightening his shirt, though he'd cleaned up. "Who are we meeting? And why are they important?"

Hermione huffed, and joked, "Siesta Magazine. They're wondering if you think drool is cool."

Harry gave the obliged smile and waited.

"The airheads the Ministry are claiming are experts." Hermione played with her tea.

"Is this the same group that agreed with your theory with the lunar effect on the disturbances, or is a new one?" Harry went about getting himself a snack.

"The same, though they didn't seem as bad yesterday, perhaps they were still trying to prove themselves…"

"Hermione, they were treating your every word as gospel – how could they get any less worthy?"

Her lower jaw jutted out dangerously, "Today, even agreement was beyond their scope."

Harry grabbed his plate and teacup, and sat across from her. Letting the silence lay, as he took a bite of his sandwich, and then rewet his throat with a good sip of his milky Irish Breakfast tea. "Needs another lump," he said, reaching for the sugar bowl. "They begged you to be Headmistress.. No. Not yet. Just to teach to start."

Hermione let out a gusty sigh, and plopped her face down into her folded arms.

"They probably topped it off with a bunch of codswollop about you being the best mind they've ever known or something like that." Harry looked to see Hermione had lifted her head, just enough to shoot a glare at him. "You know I didn't mean it like that.

"It's amazing, but it just shows how little they really know about us. They really think that we overvalue ourselves." Hermione's glare eased a bit, but her unhappiness was still apparent. "Then they probably tried to guilt you into teaching, never once ceding that since you are the brightest witch in our generation, seventh year or no seventh year, that you deserve the right to pursue your own education, not blow noses, and pose for pictures with kids."

Hermione propped her head up on her hands. "How did you know?"

Harry smiled at her, "It's Percy talk. The last couple batches seem to have read whatever he wrote or was interviewed about us… Just enough truth to poke a bit at the scabs, but completely stuck in loyalty before thought and other tripe that means they can't understand us."

Hermione sipped her tea a bit, scowling when she found it cold. After spelling it warm, she asked, "They had a different group for you?"

Harry shrugged, "They've been planting guys in my work groups. Can generally tell from the start as they do the least work possible, then start making inane comments throughout." Harry chuckled, "I think it was the Quidditch connection, thinking I'd bond with a teammate or some such nonsense."

"You haven't mentioned it. Seems like there's a lot you haven't been mentioning," her voice was tired.

"There's a lot we don't say," he gentled his voice, "I think it's because he's not here to ask the questions in between." Harry saw the hint of tears starting in her eyes, and hurried along, "We're doing alright. And this is our therapy, I thought… Our closure, or whatever the books you've been leaving on the counter call it. If I'm holding you back, if you need to move on to America and get started with the rest of your education, tell me."

Hermione's eyes glinted with the tears that had yet to fall, "It is therapy." Harry now knew the satisfaction and bit of resentment Ron must of felt when they'd been awed he'd gotten something emotional right. "They kept harping and poking about how it was my duty and I should feel guilty that I was doing something so beneath my talents."

Harry couldn't help it, he laughed.

"What?"

"They must be low in the brains department. This is the opportunity of a century for scholars and builders alike. Why did you think the Americans are working for so little?"

"International aid."

Harry shook his head. "Nah, the Ministry building itself is being aided by their Magical Bureau of Engineers, affiliated with the muggle armed forces. We have two of the _name_ firms from the US here, and have been getting lots of offers from the universities. I think we should see if there are any you'd like us to go to, after this – and see if they have any offers for us here."

"You'll go with me? To university?"

Harry shrugged, "I'd hoped to before Hogwarts, you know. I'd gotten ready for Stonewall, read the suggested reading list and all. I'd known I'd have to stand out for a chance at a scholarship, but thought I'd show them up in the end."

"The Dursleys."

Harry nodded.

"But at Hogwarts…"

Harry shrugged, "It's hard to swim again, after you've just floated so long."

Hermione looked satisfied with his answer for a moment, before she frowned, "It wasn't because of Ron, was it? Not wanting to show him up?"

Harry shrugged, "Not consciously. Perhaps I let him set the bar, because he was my first friend, and enjoying things was so odd. But I think it was more that there was no push."

"No push?"

"Just with my trust account, I saw I had more money than I thought any one person could have. My parents were heroes; I didn't need to prove to anyone how great they were. All I had to do was not be less than good. Oh, and live through whatever bizarre situation came up despite all the adults."

"Harry, I might have to accuse you of becoming deep."

"Well, before you get too attached to that idea, I'd better tell you what I did today."

"I'll ask you later, the Ministry stooges have been alone in the planning room long enough to all be red handed by now."

* * *

_And now I work more on the next part. Grief is stuck on dragon wings for the plushies.  
_


	3. Fruitless Meeting

_And now time for... **A Fruitless Meeting.** _

* * *

Harry led the way into the planning room, holding the door so Hermione could bring in the tea tray. "So what did you have to discuss with me?" Harry scanned the group, awkwardly perched on the barstools that surrounded their planning table, looking for hidden hands and sure enough three of the younger men's hands were not visible.

"Mr. Potter, another school year approaches, and another class of wizards are about to join those without a school." Harry had heard the same tripe from this paper pusher before, though he couldn't remember his name. The mousy brown hair was the only thing that kept Harry from dubbing him Percy Jr.

"What's your name again?"

Hermione sighed.

Predictably enough the mousy haired man drew up like Percy in a snit. "I am Lloyd Ellsworth Holly, the Undersecretary of Education."

Harry looked at Hermione, "There's a Secretary of Education now?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Yes, Harry, remember that woman with the pink hat that had the charmed canary?"

"Her? I thought she was collecting for a Humane Society… Makes more sense I guess, I thought that hat would be a bit cruel to wear around stray pets. And taunting cats like that, wouldn't end well at all.."

Hermione coughed to hide a laugh, and that was as far as Harry would fun with the paper pushers. "Sorry, there's been a regular parade of people through here daily. Could you please re-introduce yourselves for me? Hermione will just tease me horribly about my poor memory later."

Harry gestured to the first person in the semicircle around the table, an older woman with touches of gray in her hair and a bit too much mascara, wearing a far too dressy silk brown skirt suit, with an green blouse that seemed to be aimed at enhancing her eyes of the same shade, but made her skin look a bit jaundice.

"I am Patricia Price, Mr. Potter. I chair the committee on muggleborn entry rites."

Harry summoned a Polaroid camera Hermione had modified and took her picture, then labeled it. "Candid shots always look the best."

Hermione sighed, and pulled out a drawer on the table, pulling the five pictures off the top. Mrs. Patricia Welles Price, sans overdone makeup, was on the top. Harry flipped the one he'd just taken to Mrs. Price. "Oops. At least you get a picture as a souvenir to my weakness with names." And then turned over the picture, to add her title, and the date. The next picture was of Holly, and Harry was glad they'd at least changed seating order between visits. Holly's title was on the picture, so he just added the date to the back, and saw that the man was wearing the same pinstriped suit, though with a white ruffled shirt this time. At least Mrs. Price had more than one muggle outfit.

The sound of a throat being cleared made Harry raise his eyes to the woman sitting next to Mrs. Price. "I'm Constance Freiburn, Ms. Hopkirk's replacement." Harry quickly shuffled to her Polaroid and saw it already had _Improper Use of Magic Office_ on it.

"Perhaps, a show of hands of who hasn't met Harry yet?" Hermione joked. No hands went up, and Harry was about to apologize when he caught the scowl on Hermione's face. "Jeffery.. Michael.. Explain.. Now…"

Michael jerked in his seat, showing his red hands, "Work detail."

Jeffery and the rest of the Ministry crew were glaring at Michael. Harry broke out laughing, until Hermione turned her glare on him.

"Ok, what do any of you know about Electromagnetic Theory?" Harry asked, and was unsurprised to see no hands raised.

"Who here has any practice converting a muggle home into a Wizarding home?" Freiburn and Prince raised their hands. "And not for a muggleborn child." Their hands went down.

Harry sighed. "Who here are Ministry toad.."

Hermione elbowed Harry in the ribs. "While the Ministry's experts have little experience in the muggle world, all the Unspeakables are dead, and they were the only group authorized to adapt and adjust muggle artifacts."

Freiburn had puffed up in protest to Harry's implication, "Undoing accidental magic from muggleborns and wizards alike has given me vast experience in untangling unpredictable magic." Harry could tell she wanted to call him a boy or some other derogatory term, especially when she paused and bit her lip bloody. "All of us here have been on the accidental magic deployment teams, outside of Gringotts employees, we are the best equipped to deal with this situation."

"From the Ministry."

"Harry."

Harry turned to Hermione, "I know the Americans sent people.. They are staying in Hogsmede. Heck their engineers built a hotel/conference center there. Why aren't they here?"

Hermione frowned, the center of her forehead wrinkling as it always did when she missed an obvious question.

The sound of a throat clearing drew their eyes back to Undersecretary Holly. "Americans do not understand the differences between our countries. They wish to waste Ministry galleons.."

Harry interrupted, "There are no Ministry galleons here."

Holly continued over Harry, "The hours of manpower needed are wasteful. Britain needs to move on, and there is not enough time to complete a study of the problem here, let alone rebuild before September first."

Glassware began to twitch in the room, and for once it wasn't Harry who had his fists clenched in rage. As Hermione's hair began to rise from the energy she was putting out, Harry placed a calming hand on her shoulder. "I find your position, Mr. Holly, quite sad. And can only marvel at the intelligence of whomever decided to let the Corp of Engineers take over reconstruction of the Ministry and send you to us. However, we are too busy to be your minders any longer."

"I've never been so insulted."

Harry ignored the response and addressed the others, "For those of you who have something that might help, I suggest an alternate forum. I would like any suggestions in writing via Private Owl. Please do not bother with Ministry reports, only your ideas."

Hermione had regained her calm by this point, "The last two days, while flattering, haven't been fruitful. And I believe Harry's suggestion is the best path forward. I look forward to your Owls. I would recommend flooing out as soon as possible, as the fluctuations are likely to have afterschocks at about 10 PM. "

Harry and Hermione went back into their private rooms, making the door transparent from their side after closing it.

The Ministry employees filed out, only Holly looking peeved, the rest resigned, as if they knew it was a failed approach in the first place. And sure enough, the younger men with red hands, tried to grab a souvenir or two.

Harry groaned, "If we didn't have the gate spells, I think the Ministry would have cost us a lot of galleons by now."

Hermione didn't comment, instead just flopping on the sofa.

Harry sat on the armchair across from her, and waited.

"This is what brain drain does."

Harry just nodded.

"This is what inbreeding does."

Harry nodded again.

"Augh!" Hermione muffled her scream into a pillow. Then she set it back down, neatly in the corner, sat up, and straightened her clothing. "So why didn't you warn me?"

Harry sighed, and raked his hand through his hair, "I have to tell you how I risked my life today."

Hermione's eyes widened, but the scowl, and the crinkle between her eyes, left.

Harry wondered, if to Hermione, risking his life meant things getting back to normal.

* * *

_Until next time..._


	4. Lead Poisoning

**_Desparate Measure: Lead Poisoning_**

* * *

Harry was surprised that Hermione was disappointed at not being there for the experiment, and thought the more dangerous bit had been him trying it alone. She was now reading his initial research notes, with some of the books he read to follow. Harry was reviewing the plans the American wizarding architects had created to convert an abandoned boarding school not far from Hogsmede into a temporary school.

Such a large swath of the forbidden forest had been destroyed by the fighting that a large clearing existed right near the main gates to the grounds, within easy walking distance of Hogsmede. The idea was to move the structure, which was being sold by a developer for 1 pound, and eventually use it for a primary day school. The spells used were largely illusionary for the move, and didn't interest Harry as much as the retrofit spelling did. Americans had discovered lead a test of the water pipes, and priced the replacement of the pipes. "Bloody Hell!"

"What's wrong?"

"Lead poisoning causes squibs."

"What? I've never heard that."

Harry starred the relevant section, and shoved the papers into Hermione's hands, then jumped up and began to pace.

"The Headmaster's library," Hermione said, and went to her room, quickly returning with a hovering stack of crates following her.

Harry took the top half off the pile, and stood in front of them, reading the listing of contents from the face of side of each crate, while Hermione unstacked the remaining crates from the bottom one. "Knew it! Of course we'd have packed the important books first."

As Hermione opened the crate, Harry restacked the rest and moved them to a corner of the room. Hermione pulled out dozens of books, and began going through some of the heritage volumes.

Harry in the mean time got out parchment and quill and began to write the few surviving members of Hogwarts' faculty.

--

When Harry woke the next morning, he was quite startled to find he wasn't alone. He jumped back from Luna, whose head was next to his on the pillow. "What!"

Harry hit his back against the pile of books, he'd brought to bed with him, and sat up. Luna stood up straight, laughing at Harry. "Just as funny as on the show," she said, as she left the room.

Harry's mind caught up to the fact Luna had been standing next to the bed the whole time, just bent over. He moved off the pile of books, and out of bed, grabbing his robe as Hermione threw it from the open doorway. "Hurry up sleepyhead, Luna's got some options for us."

Harry shrugged on the robe, and heading out to the living room. The room looked like a groups of Ravenclaws had been studying for finals, without fear from Madam Pince. Charts and Maps were on the walls, and sticky notes were attached to everything. Harry cleared himself a seat and tried to figure out what they had been up to.

"The question is Harry, do you want to upset the whole of wizardry in England or just topple the Ministry?" Luna said.

Hermione added another sticky to a map of Ireland, "It's not quite to that yet, Luna." She looked at the other woman, "Unless you see…"

"Just trying for a little humor," Luna pouted, with a sparkle to her eye.

"Imagine I hadn't been sleeping, what would I know now," Harry interjected.

"What Hermione's burnt coffee tastes like."

Hermione glared at Luna, "The lead factor is huge Harry. Half-bloods in particular seem to be affected the most. We could have twice or three times as many wizards in England, if we use the Americans' lead poisoning potion treatment."

"Lead inhibits mental development as well. Isn't that why muggles test for it? I think I remember my Aunt testing some china with a pen."

"That wasn't until we were kids, Harry. Before that it was in automotive fuel, paint, plumbing, all sorts of places that would easily contaminate the environment of a child."

"This is a scandal worse than if Fudge had literally been roasting goblins in his fireplace."

"Why? I mean, I get that it's tragic, but why a scandal?"

Hermione answered, "Because it is in the Ministry's own guidelines for builders, that they knew the danger of lead in the water. It's even in code for building permits, but they did nothing to inform the public, only banned converting muggle homes to wizard dwellings."

Harry sat back, and thunked his head a couple times off the back of the sofa. "So we have thousands of squibs or muggles that aren't.."

"Because the Ministry couldn't tax muggle residences," Luna finished.

Harry stood up, "Anything that needs done now?"

Hermione glanced at Luna, "We need to decide what we'll tell the public, and when."

Harry shook his head, and looked to Luna, "What horrors occur if we delay?"

"I have no indication what will happen, I don't have an article either."

Hermione's eyes opened a bit wider at that, but she didn't say anything.

"We need to meet with the architects and get the new building installed." Harry raised a quelling hand, as Hermione began to protest, "We have to have somewhere to work from. And we need more people to help."

Hermione jumped in, "I don't disagree with that, but I think we need to print something. As soon as we order the treatment potions, it'll create a timepoint that people can point to, and say we covered things up."

Luna began writing. Harry concentrated on what he would write. Luna and he had been doing a series of progress notes on rebuilding Hogwarts, to counter the Ministry's silence and gossip. They were quite popular with readers, doubling the newsstands sales whenever they appeared. Luna handed the partial column to Hermione. "This might work, Harry. And it also makes it appear as we recognized the danger and announced it immediately, though not the scope."

Harry took the parchment, "Hopefully it will help. Why don't you write the architects and see if they want to have lunch in Hogsmede to finalize the contract? I'll finish this up for Luna." Harry looked at the girl in question, "Can you wait a bit?"

At Luna's nod, Harry sat again and began to write.

* * *

_Didn't plan on this coming into the story. But the small numbers at Hogwarts has always seemed off to me._

* * *


	5. Stables and Lunch Meetings

_This story is AU, and begun before DH. While elements of DH and HBP might influence my writing, this story is AU after OotP._

**_Desperate Measure _**_continued.._**_  
_**

* * *

The ionized smell that usually came from the ruins of Hogwarts was gone today, Harry noticed, like the air after a good rainstorm. Hermione had gone to coordinate with the volunteers for the day, as Harry began the weekly sort through the materials the wards had prevented visitors from taking. The Threstrals had defended Hogwarts and all the adult horses had died in the final attack, the colts took up a bare fraction of the stables, which were barely in Hogwart's wards, in the Forbidden Forest. Upon discovering the place, Harry could finally see why the job of Groundskeeper had been so appealing for Hagrid. There were numerous outbuildings geared to different species of animals, as well as insects, all hidden by ancient wards that made the area impregnable to those not admitted by the Headmaster or Groundskeeper. Harry thought that perhaps it was the inspiration for the Fidelius.

Harry was the Headmaster, though only the former staff and Hermione knew that fact. It had been a failsafe set up by Dumbledore in his first year. If Hogwarts fell, Harry would be Headmaster, to prevent the wards and enchantments from coming into hostile hands, which included those of the Ministry. As expected, the survivors among the former staff, beyond Poppy were all in St Mungos, save McGonagall, who was in a muggle hospital undergoing an experimental treatment for the nerve damage she'd sustained from a dozen Crucios. Until they uncovered the Gargoyle to the Headmaster's office, no staff appointments could be changed, and so Harry was the only fit wizard able to enter the stables.

Today the house elves must have been busy, or sensed he wasn't there for a chat, as none came to greet him. The magic of the ruins was too violent for their health, especially as it was mostly the oldest and the youngest that survived. Harry usually took special time to tend the Thestrals, so Hagrid's work of decades taming the herd wouldn't be lost, but today he was there to check a hunch.

The Return Room today was mostly empty. The four cornerstones that defined the space the wards would return to, were still visible despite the pile in the center. This time, beyond the pens, and rocks, the only other material returned from would be thieves were books and parchments, some of which were red marked as illegal copies from the library. Harry levitated the books out of the room, and took them to the former nursery/treatment room. It was the most sterile of the rooms of the stable, being fully enclosed, with a stone floor. As Harry added the books to the shelf, the charmed parchment affixed to the bookstand, added the titles to the list, with the date Harry placed them on the shelves, as well as the last "guest" to hold the book. Sure enough, when Harry checked, the Ministry attempted thefts and duplications now only focused on a single subject: time magic.

Hermione looked cross, and gave a pointed look at her watch, as Harry entered the newly rebuilt Three Broomsticks. He shrugged, though he knew that would likely only infuriate her, and ordered chips and a butterbeer at the bar, before heading to the table. When he got to the table it became clear the others had waited on him to order their meals, and he felt a frisson of guilt. "Sorry, got tied up in the Bestiary. And with the wards, I'm the only one left that can go in and check on things." Harry took the seat across from Hermione, as it was the one closest. Probably not the best strategy as she couldn't elbow him to push him back to the point, but then again he was running low on bruise paste.

But just as Harry began to grin, he felt her foot settle on top of his, and she smirked in return. "The major here has been offering great advice on lead abatement. Turns out we'll have to replumb the whole building, and remove all old electrical wiring."

Major Carson spoke up, "Unfortunately, the materials cannot even be recycled in a Wizarding fashion. We tried separating the welds from the pipes, but lead in the presence of magic migrates and pits the copper pipes from the inside. And you really don't want to see the effects magic has on galvanized material over time."

"PVC has tested to be magic neutral, so we'll use that for all waste pipes, except for the labs and reinforced in the bathrooms." He smirked a little, "Beauty potions mixed give quite the lethal cocktail."

Harry asked, "Is there someway to charm materials safe?"

Hermione shook her head violently, but was beaten to the punch by Carson. "No charm or transfiguration can handle such a wide variety of material except for a incinerating charm, and that would risk releasing deadly gases, and far more severe consequences if the system were to be damaged or break down."

Hermione added, "Hogwarts' drains were made of concentric pipes of stone, clay, and metal. The architects have several ideas they'll discuss with us later, but our primary focus will be on the Civil Engineers retrofit of the building, as that has the more demanding timeline."

Major Carson nodded, "Two of my Structural Engineers are working with the architects on completing the design specs. Some architects get too caught up in their art, and forget practicality." He shrugged, "We have a team finishing stripping the structure on its current site, and with some good weather and magic we should be established onsite within the week."

Madam Rosemerta herself came by with a large order of chips with tiny pots of mayonnaise and ketchup, and enough forks for all at the table, along with Harry's butterbeer. "So what would you like to eat?" Harry gave her a grateful smile, and made a mental note to add 5 galleons to the bill.

oOo

* * *

_Little nervous about the ranks of the military folks. Thanks for your reviews, and encouragement._  



	6. Marking Ground

_This story is AU, and begun before DH. While elements of DH and HBP might influence my writing, this story is AU after OotP._

**_Desperate Measure _**_continued.._**_  
_**

* * *

Harry walked back to the gates of Hogwarts with the architects and structural engineers. The Americans were discussing sports back home, and Harry let their words float by as he pondered the problem that for some reason he didn't expect – how to get the building through the gate.

Shrinking the building, floating it over the wall, going through the Forbidden Forest had all been discussed. Hermione in fact was going to attempt to shrink a garden shed, and bring it back to do a dry run. She hadn't appreciated his suggestion of an old outhouse, and cuffed him on the shoulder when he said it was multilevel.

"Harry?"

He shook his head a bit, "Yes?"

"John and I need to stake out the site today, no telling whether any of the stumps and roots might be more resistant, with it being a magical forest, " said Steve White, the elder of the two architects.

John Davison the senior engineer added, "Not to mention scanning the area for time capsules and artifacts."

Harry nodded, "There are several species of magical creatures in the Forest, so if you come across a burial ground for the centaurs or something else that might start another war if disturbed, please get me immediately.

White shuddered a bit, "I had a bit of a bad experience bow hunting as a kid. No way I'd anger skilled archers." The other men stared at him a bit, and were disappointed when he didn't continue.

Davison said, "I've worked in the Southwest US and Central America. Some of the "missing" tribes are actually magical, and they warded most of their lands with aggressive traps. Given that some of the nonmagical tribes were rather blood thirsty – even the burial grounds were made lethal to outsiders. Then, we have an added danger of local warlords other admirers of their wards sometimes claiming the ruins. The Drug War the muggles speak of is quite a headache for the Secretary of Magic, and the internationals. Most of our engineers get their feet wet in battle conditions there."

Harry lead them to the area, and was talked through the spells to ensure that excavation on that site wouldn't disrupt any ley-lines or ward anchors. The spells were the same as in the guide he'd read – though his interpretation of the pronunciation was vastly different than what Davison actually spoke, so Harry was quite glad he hadn't practiced the spell. Especially when one of the junior men teased another about a catastrophe in Egypt, with the same pronunciation Harry would have tried.

Closer inspection of the gates by the architects revealed a nearly rusted shut hinging mechanism that allowed quite a bit of the fence from the gate to the woods to fold up – without disturbing the wards. The downside was that it disabled the physical protections to the fencing in that area. Without Harry asking the men swore a vow to keep that information secret.

Harry and White moved to a safe distance and watched the engineers start the excavation. White's apprentice Samuel Johnson was quite a contrast to the military men even from a distance, as the smaller man held a projected image of the structure over the site. Harry could see that the gawkers from the Ministry and the volunteers seemed to be getting little work done that morning, as it seemed a good half of them were just standing by the outer edge of Hogwarts proper, staring at the Americans.

White gestured at the crowd, "Think we should have charged admission?"

Harry snorted, "I think my memos might actually be read by this time tomorrow."

"What do you mean?"

"There are papers that have to be filed with the Ministry in the amendments to the Charter of Hogwarts. The Ministry in return is supposed to pay a portion of the tuition of each student. They are in long-term violation of that agreement, and Headmaster Dumbledore would send the protests and requests for payments quarterly, but being in the Wizengamot had a conflict of interest, and never took aggressive measures. So I revoked the Amendments, pending payment."

White stared at Harry, "Mr. Potter, was this detailed in my contract?"

Harry nodded. "I revoked the Amendments as soon as I learned of them. And in your contract it's stated plainly that all payments and approvals were only to be made by the Headmaster of Hogwarts, me."

White shook his head, "I bet the stupid lawyers never knew what that meant."

Harry laughed, "They did. That's why they helped pull strings to get the American Ministry to provide their engineers, they might have pocket protectors – but they are still military."

"I need to know what this means for myself and my men, Mr. Potter."

Harry plopped down to sit on the grass, "Well, Mr. White, it really means nothing except I will pay the bills, and no one has the right to oppose my decisions regarding construction on the grounds. Hermione and I will deal with the Ministry as we already have been. Frankly, we've not done a thing they really wanted for quite some time, except meet with their employees. The only question is whether they'll ever check to see if we've been doing so legally.

"But I promise I will not leave your men in danger, sir. At the first sign of threat from the Ministry, I'm prepared to move your men behind our wards."

Mr. White shook his head and muttered, "My father always told me to read the fine print." He sat, looking Harry up and down, "I believe we'll expedite the work, and spend our down time in Ireland rather than London."

Harry nodded, "You seemed more at ease than I thought you would be, with the situation. I should have spoken with you personally when you arrived. Hermione is my best friend, but somehow she still has quite some faith in the good of man."

White nodded, and went back to the site. Harry stayed and watched as they went ahead with the preparations for excavation.

* * *

Harry was most surprised two hours later, to see Hermione approaching on a flying carpet in the lead of a group of Engineers also on carpets, all levitating what seemed to be a small garden shed. The crowds that had gotten to work earlier resumed their gawking, as Hermione's group levitated the shed between the open gates to a site cleared earlier by the surveying crew, a site four times as large as the "shed" appeared to be.

Harry caught sight of more than a couple Ministry employees break their cover as volunteers to scribble frantically on parchment, and saw a couple of them nearly collide as they rushed to town to get to an owl. With the floos shut down in Hogsmede, there would be sure to be a few splinchings. Few wizards could make long distance apparitions, and those that could were even more rarely paper-pushers at the Ministry, so Harry knew St Mungo's would be busy.

To Harry's surprise, after centering the shed over the cleared site, engineers from the ground added their wands to the mix, engorging the storage building to it's normal size. Gasps from the gawkers, confirmed the awesome sight, as the men on the ground moved to the corners and guided the building down. When the building was down, and Hermione and her crew landed, there was some applause.

The Americans quickly swarmed over the building, but Hermione approached Harry instead. "It works!"

Harry laughed, "Hermione, you're glowing!" Hermione looked down at her hands to check he didn't mean it literally, and Harry laughed some more, and grabbed her into a hug. "Great job."

Hermione stepped back, "They have so many specialized spells for stabilizing the structure! It took more time for them to spell the building than it did to fly it here."

"I wonder if the goblins have started book on this yet."

"Gambling? On what?"

"Whether the Ministry will try to cite you for flying a carpet, or for us moving a structure onto the property first."

Hermione shook her head with a laugh, "Nope, not thinking about them. Come see their spells in work, Harry." And she grabbed his hand and led him back on site.

* * *


End file.
